In addition to the meetings with the Executive Committee of the Community and the focal points, on October 10 we held the first official meeting with the Permanent Secretariat of the Community, to advance a better understanding of the way of working together, the challenges of short and medium term, and to articulate the communication processes between both parties. A very profitable meeting that opened up the possibility of Enrique de Obarrio, Chair of Pillar, traveling to Warsaw in the second half of November.

The Chairman of the Pillar, Enrique de Obarrio, participated in the Tenth Global Assembly of the World Movement for Decmoracy, which was held in Taipei, Taiwan from the 25th to 28th of October. There, he could met outstanding democracy defenders from all over the world, including some of our members from ADN, one of our regional partner in Asia.

Enrique de Obarrio also will be traveling to Warsaw in the week of November 21, where he will meet with the Permanent Secretariat, Jacek Kucharczyk, the Vice chair of the Pillar, and some representatives of the member countries of the Governing Council that have an embassy in Warsaw.

Besides, Enrique will be participating on behalf of the Pillar in the side event “Civil Society: Key to building stronger democracies post-pandemic”, to be held in the margins of the Fourth Session of the UN Forum on Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law on 24 November 2022 at the UN Palais des Nations, Geneva. The side event will discuss the key role played by civil society in building more robust democracies post-pandemic, looking at both challenges and opportunities. The meeting will additionally aim to share good practices from civil society representatives. 

Likewise, we have held several meetings with the Permanent Secretariat and with the focal point of the Government of the United States for the Community of Democracies. We will continue to make steady progress in recognizing the main actors.